TIME FOR LIFT OFF

After humbling lessons, O'Shea believes Ireland are ready to meet next challenge

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SCHOOL is out for Ireland's World Cup hopefuls - says centre-half Dara O'Shea.

According to the Ipswich Town man, in football “you either win or you learn”.

And this Irish side, he says, has “done a lot of learning”.

There certainly are less kind ways to describe Ireland's form over the past few years.

Some of the more humbling lessons have been delivered in Yerevan (twice) and Athens (twice again). If we never have to see the inside of those two classrooms again, it'll be too soon.

The toughest tutorials have come in the shape of defeats to the Netherlands, France and England, and in a couple of injury-time losses away to tonight's opponents Portugal.

So the time for swotting up is over. Put the books away, it's time for Heimir Hallgrimsson's men to face their biggest test yet.

When it comes to results, there is no grey area - it's either a pass or a fail. Book a spot in next March's playoffs or prepare for yet another summer without tournament football.

Ireland's hopes of advancing their claims for a spot at next year’s World Cup finals rest on games at home to Roberto Martinez's men tonight and away to Hungary on Sunday.

The urgency of their situation is not lost on O'Shea.

He said: “The results are there to be seen, and we have suffered some poor defeats and games we should have won.